You can find a lot of different ideas of what makes for a successful team and what doesn’t. But there’s one thing most everyone can agree upon as a major factor in wins and losses: turnovers.
In that regard, there is little question as to why the Raiders have just one win which they eeked out against a bad Broncos team.
The Raiders defense has yet to take the ball away from the opposing offense this season. Not by interception or by fumble.
The Raiders offense, on the other hand, has turned the ball over seven times. That’s six interceptions and one fumble.
That -7 turnover differential is tied for dead last in the NFL. But the Vikings, with whom the Raiders are tied, at least have two takeaways. The Raiders and Giants (-5) are the only two teams in the league without a takeaway through three games.
Sunday night, Marcus Peters gave the Raiders their best shot at changing that stat. He read a short pass perfectly and had what would have been a sure pick six, but dropped it.
Obviously, the Raiders six interceptions thrown were by Jimmy Garoppolo. Compared to five touchdown passes. While Garoppolo has one of the team’s three fumbles, just one of those fumbles was not recovered by the Raiders and that was Zamir White’s fumble in Buffalo in Week two.
In case you’re wondering, the best turnover differential belongs to the Dallas Cowboys with six. The Buccaneers come in second with five. Then a cluster of teams at four and so on.
Rounding out the worst teams are the Broncos (-4), Bears (-4), and Browns (-5).